According to an embodiment, a processing device includes a generating unit, a detecting unit, and a determining unit. The generating unit is configured to generate two-dimensional distribution information of an object, the two-dimensional distribution information associating between at least a lateral direction distance and a depth direction distance of the object. The detecting unit is configured to detect a continuous area having continuity in a depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information. The determining unit is configured to determine whether the continuous area represents a detection target.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A processing device, comprising: generating circuitry configured to generate two-dimensional distribution information of an object, the two-dimensional distribution information associating between at least a lateral direction distance and a depth direction distance of the object; detecting circuitry configured to detect a continuous area having continuity in a depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information; labeling circuitry that assigns a label to plural pieces of information continuous in the depth direction of the two-dimensional distribution information; sorting circuitry that sorts out information continuous in the depth direction over a predetermined threshold or more, from information assigned with a same label; and integrating circuitry that integrates labels of plural pieces of information having a lateral direction range or a depth direction range that is in a predetermined range, into the same label, the plural pieces of information being among the information sorted out, wherein if pieces of the information sorted out by the sorting circuitry and assigned with labels different from each other are in a predetermined range in the depth direction, the integrating circuitry performs integration by assigning the same label to a piece of the information that is between the pieces of the information assigned with the labels different from each other.
2. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein: the detecting circuitry detects, as the continuous area, an area connected in the depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information.
3. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein: the generating circuitry generates low resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of a detection target, and high resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of an object different from the detection target, and the detecting circuitry detects, based on the low resolution two-dimensional distribution information, the continuous area.
4. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein: the generating circuitry generates the two-dimensional distribution information in an orthogonal coordinate system having coordinate axes corresponding to values respectively based on distance and disparity in a horizontal direction, the detecting circuitry detects a continuous area having priority in a direction of an axis of the value based on the disparity of the two-dimensional distribution information.
5. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein: the detecting circuitry detects, as the continuous area, an area where pixels are continuous in the direction of an axis of a value based on the disparity of the two-dimensional distribution information.
6. The processing device according to claim 5 , wherein: if plural sets of the pixels are apart by an interval equal to or less than a predefined allowable number of pixels in the direction of the axis of the value based on the disparity of the two-dimensional distribution information, the detecting circuitry regards the plural sets of the pixels to be continuous.
7. The processing device according to claim 5 , further comprising: determining circuitry configured to determine that the continuous area represents a detection target if the number of pixels continuous in the continuous area is equal to or greater than a predefined reference, wherein the determining circuitry changes the reference according to a position along the direction of the axis of the value based on the disparity of the two-dimensional distribution information.
8. The processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising: object detecting circuitry configured to detect an object based on the two-dimensional distribution information; and area determining circuitry that determines, based on the continuous area determined by the determining circuitry to be representing a detection target, an object detection target area to be subjected to detection of an object, the object detection target area being of the two-dimensional distribution information, wherein the object detecting circuitry detects an object in the object detection target area determined by the area determining circuitry.
9. The processing device according to claim 8 , wherein: the area determining circuitry determines, as the object detection target area, an area surrounded by the continuous area determined as the detection target by the determining circuitry.
10. The processing device according to claim 8 , wherein: when the detecting circuitry detects the continuous area, the generating circuitry generates the two-dimensional distribution information such that the two-dimensional distribution information has a resolution lower than that in a case where the object detecting circuitry detects the object.
11. An object recognition apparatus, comprising: a stereo camera; and the processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the generating circuitry generates the two-dimensional distribution information based on disparity calculated using a plurality of images captured by the stereo camera.
12. A device control system, comprising: control circuitry that controls a device based on the continuous area determined as representing a detection target by the processing device according to claim 1 .
13. A processing method, including: generating two-dimensional distribution information of an object, the two-dimensional distribution information associating between at least a distance in a lateral direction and a distance in a depth direction, of the object; detecting a continuous area having continuity in the depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information; determining whether or not the continuous area represents a detection target; assigning a label to plural pieces of information continuous in the depth direction of the two-dimensional distribution information; sorting out information continuous in the depth direction over a predetermined threshold or more, from information assigned with a same label; and integrating labels of plural pieces of information having a lateral direction range or a depth direction range that is in a predetermined range, into the same label, the plural pieces of information being among the information sorted out, wherein if pieces of the information sorted out by the sorting and assigned with labels different from each other are in a predetermined range in the depth direction, the integrating performs integration by assigning the same label to a piece of the information that is between the pieces of the information assigned with the labels different from each other.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that contains a computer that causes a computer to execute: generating two-dimensional distribution information of an object, the two-dimensional distribution information associating between at least a distance in a lateral direction and a distance in a depth direction, of the object; detecting a continuous area having continuity in the depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information; determining whether or not the continuous area represents a detection target; assigning a label to plural pieces of information continuous in the depth direction of the two-dimensional distribution information; sorting out information continuous in the depth direction over a predetermined threshold or more, from information assigned with a same label; and integrating labels of plural pieces of information having a lateral direction range or a depth direction range that is in a predetermined range, into the same label, the plural pieces of information being among the information sorted out, wherein if pieces of the information sorted out by the sorting and assigned with labels different from each other are in a predetermined range in the depth direction, the integrating performs integration by assigning the same label to a piece of the information that is between the pieces of the information assigned with the labels different from each other.
15. A vehicle that includes device control system according to claim 12 and is controlled by the control circuitry.
16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein: the detecting detects, as the continuous area, an area connected in the depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information.
17. The method according to claim 13 , wherein: the generating generates low resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of the detection target, and high resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of an object different from the detection target, and the detecting detects, based on the low resolution two-dimensional distribution information, the continuous area.
18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein: the generating generates the two-dimensional distribution information in an orthogonal coordinate system having coordinate axes corresponding to values respectively based on distance and disparity in a horizontal direction, the detecting detects a continuous area having priority in a direction of an axis of the value based on the disparity of the two-dimensional distribution information.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 14 , wherein: the detecting detects, as the continuous area, an area connected in the depth direction in the two-dimensional distribution information.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium according to claim 14 , wherein: the generating generates low resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of the detection target, and high resolution two-dimensional distribution information for detection of an object different from the detection target, and the detecting detects, based on the low resolution two-dimensional distribution information, the continuous area.
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June 26, 2018
August 18, 2020
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